User Reviews

Reviewer: Tammy, 65-74 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Effectiveness

Current Rating: 2

Ease of Use

Current Rating: 1

Satisfaction

Current Rating: 1

Comment: This is my 2nd treatment, this time has been very painful. They applied levulan, waited 1 hour, then 16 minutes under blue light. That was all tolerable, but now on day 3 and have has little sleep because of burn pain, swelling, blisters, and itching. The drive home was awful, wore a hat but had to leave the car window down to get cold air on my face to relieve the pain. Have been indoors since
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Comment:This is my 2nd treatment, this time has been very painful. They applied levulan, waited 1 hour, then 16 minutes under blue light. That was all tolerable, but now on day 3 and have has little sleep because of burn pain, swelling, blisters, and itching. The drive home was awful, wore a hat but had to leave the car window down to get cold air on my face to relieve the pain. Have been indoors since, and look so freakish that I don't want to go anywhere. Will not do this againHide Full Comment

Reviewer: Earth, 65-74 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Effectiveness

Current Rating: 3

Ease of Use

Current Rating: 1

Satisfaction

Current Rating: 2

Comment: Now in day four and still very swollen and burned. Levulan applied after acetate scrub with gauze (ouch), waited two hours, then got the IPL zapped all over my face. Was definitely painful. My eyes saw all the flashes and I complained to the tech but she said it was normal and just adjusted the eyepads. I still think my eyes should have been better protected. Too soon to tell how effective it
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Comment:Now in day four and still very swollen and burned. Levulan applied after acetate scrub with gauze (ouch), waited two hours, then got the IPL zapped all over my face. Was definitely painful. My eyes saw all the flashes and I complained to the tech but she said it was normal and just adjusted the eyepads. I still think my eyes should have been better protected. Too soon to tell how effective it is but I will never do this again. Very painful. Hide Full Comment

Reviewer: KMS, 75 or over Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Effectiveness

Current Rating: 1

Ease of Use

Current Rating: 1

Satisfaction

Current Rating: 1

Comment: I had this treatment yesterday, I told attendant I had sensitive skin. I noticed when checking on how to relieve burning pain, the directions said GENTLY CLEAN FACE BEFORE BLU RAY, SHE CLEANED MY FACE WITH GAUZE WHICH WAS HARSH. I AM VERY UNCOMFORTABLE TODAY.

Comment:I had this treatment yesterday, I told attendant I had sensitive skin. I noticed when checking on how to relieve burning pain, the directions said GENTLY CLEAN FACE BEFORE BLU RAY, SHE CLEANED MY FACE WITH GAUZE WHICH WAS HARSH. I AM VERY UNCOMFORTABLE TODAY.Hide Full Comment

Comment: I'm a red headed retired mailman with decades of sun exposure. Doctor recommended levulan to remove pre cancers. Technician said they had two different machines, one a 16 minute, the other a 4 minute model. She said she liked the 4 minute one. First she did my scalp an hour after levulan application. It hurt pretty bad and I was glad it only lasted 4 minutes. Then came the facial treatment. Th
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Comment:I'm a red headed retired mailman with decades of sun exposure. Doctor recommended levulan to remove pre cancers. Technician said they had two different machines, one a 16 minute, the other a 4 minute model. She said she liked the 4 minute one. First she did my scalp an hour after levulan application. It hurt pretty bad and I was glad it only lasted 4 minutes. Then came the facial treatment. The only time in my life I can remember this much pain was when I had an abscess tooth and had to have the nerve drilled out. Straight out blowtorch feeling, had to stop twice and didn't know if I could finish but did. Don't know about 16 minute procedure but can only assume the 4 min. Is 4 times stronger. Day 5 face is still severe sunburn, red bleeding spots, itching and pain. Would never have it done again. By the way I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Can't comment on effectiveness, too soon to tellHide Full Comment

Reviewer: NCgirl, 45-54 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Effectiveness

Current Rating: 5

Ease of Use

Current Rating: 5

Satisfaction

Current Rating: 5

Comment: I had the PDT treatment on my face yesterday morning for AKs on my face. I am 45 yrs-old and sustained a good bit of sun damage for the first 30 years of my life. I have had three Mohs surgeries on my face since age 40 and I am trying to avoid any more surgeries going forward. I know everyone's experience is different, but I had read some very alarming patient reviews so I wanted to write a po
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Comment:I had the PDT treatment on my face yesterday morning for AKs on my face. I am 45 yrs-old and sustained a good bit of sun damage for the first 30 years of my life. I have had three Mohs surgeries on my face since age 40 and I am trying to avoid any more surgeries going forward. I know everyone's experience is different, but I had read some very alarming patient reviews so I wanted to write a positive review to encourage those considering PDT. After all the reviews I'd read, I was extremely anxious going into my dermatologist's office yesterday. The process was just like it was described...my face was cleaned with alcohol, the Kerastick solution was applied, and I waited one hour before sitting in the blue light. I expected the worst, even though the nurse reassured me that I would likely not have a strong reaction. She was very kind and helpful which put me at ease. While under the light, she checked in on me a few times. Even though the burning was mild for me (maybe a 2 on a scale of 1-10), they had a cool fan blowing up into my face which felt great. The lights were not particularly hot and though I can be claustrophobic, I wasn't bothered by the semi-circle of lights because I knew I could back up at any time and be in a wide-open room. I never needed to do this, but the nurse told me I could if things got too intense. When the PDT treatment ended my face was slightly pink in areas but the mild stinging stopped almost immediately. I stayed out of sunlight all day yesterday and I will today as well. I am in my house with the blinds closed. As far as how I felt yesterday, my face was slightly pink and felt somewhat tight/dry and mildly itchy. I kept waiting for it to get worse (as per some of the reviews) - even this morning I was concerned I might wake up with a burning red face, but this was not the case. Today, my face is much the same as yesterday - slightly pink, mildly itchy and tight/dry feeling. I am confident that my recovery will continue to be positive.Hide Full Comment

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